


And You Are...?

by cutearrowgirl



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Arrow Family, Arrow Verse, F/M, Family, Future Fic, Other, Relationship(s), Small fluff, Team Arrow, Time Travel, cutearrowgirl, olicity - Freeform, season 3 divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2018-05-22 16:44:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6087109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutearrowgirl/pseuds/cutearrowgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A date, an explosion, a time disturbance, and a new comer. What do all these things have in common? They all involve Oliver and Felicity. But how? Who is this new face and where did he come from? Or when did he come from? Sometimes the events of the past need to be changed to pave way for a better future than the one ahead of us.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Comer

**Author's Note:**

> New story from yours truly! This is a AU fic with an Original Character. This story begins during 3x01 with the first date that Oliver and Felicity are on. Some dialog is taken directly from the show but after the first initial scene, everything else being changed from then on in the story. Some parts from the show are used but in different contexts. 
> 
> I apologize for any mistakes, I have a fabulous beta but still even between the two of us, we still manage to miss things. 
> 
> I do not own Arrow or the characters! 
> 
> For those of you who would like to see what our original character looks like, the picture is posted on my tumblr. Find and follow me there at cutearrowgirl.

“There was just something about you..” He says with wonder, falling harder while he sees the blush spread across her cheeks.

“Yeah, I was chewing on a pen.” She says almost embarrassed over it, shaking her head slightly and not meeting his eyes.

“It was red.” He states so matter-of-factly she questions herself on how much more he remembers about her.

She looks at him with an amazed yet loving smile, wondering just how this could all be so real.

“Do you remember when I told you that because of what we do,I didn't think that I could be with someone that I, that I could really care about?” He said taking a deep breath and looking up at her, their eyes meeting directly.

She nodded quickly, swallowing hard before answering, “Yeah, I remember.”

“So maybe I was wrong.” He says it with clarity, but you can hear how the nerves are swimming around in him as he says it. 

She meets his eyes, breathes out a breath of relief and smiles. Her bright smile giving him butterflies in his stomach. Her mind, for once, having nothing to say; too overjoyed by what she just heard.

Just as she opened her mouth to reply, he hears a slight booming sound outside the restaurant. Unsure of what he hears but knowing it will result in catastrophe, he jumps up and quickly throws the table that stands between them to the side, wrapping his arms around her he moves them further into the restaurant seeking cover, shielding her body with his own. As he shelters her, an odd explosion shatters the window of the restaurant, scattering glass and debris all around  
them. The jump to take cover and the small explosion, just enough to knock them both out.

A few minutes later Oliver wakes up in a startle, his body achy but his mind pushing all that aside until he is sure Felicity is ok. A he rouses himself, he checks his surroundings for her, spotting her a few feet from him. Rushing to her side, he looks her over finding a small cut on her forehead and she is unconscious, but overall she looks ok.

He leans down and picks her up, taking her out of there, needing her to be safe. As he carries her out, he thinks about what caused this. It wasn’t an average bomb, that much he knew. He feels like he has seen something like this before, something that he can’t fully piece together in his mind. But he is determined, when they get back to the foundry and he is assured she is perfectly ok, they will be figuring out exactly what they hell it was that caused this. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Landing hard on his ass with a solid boom and the slightly explosion from his not so subtle entrance, he shakes his head, trying to stand up. The device, one that looked a lot like a pocket watch, still tightly gripped in his hand.

If he has learned anything from his father and uncle over the years, it's that when something goes wrong and you cannot get caught, you make a hasty exit.

He stood, made sure his bag was still with him and nothing was scorched. He slips the device in his back pocket, brushes himself off and quickly walks out of the back alley. Only looking over his shoulder once to see the mess he had made. He feels bad for causing it, remorse building up as he continues to almost run away. 

He knew where he had to go, if everything from the stories were correct, Verdant was up and running and that's where they would be. Well, that is above where they will be if he is being honest.

As he turns down another alley, he takes a deep breathe and stops, leaning against the brick wall. He can't help but think about how nervous he was. He was going to see people he hadn't seen in years; he was going to see a lot of people he considered his family. The hardest part, the part he was the most nervous about, was he was going to be seeing his family in a way he hadn’t seen before and they would be looking at him with absolutely no recognition of who he was. 

He couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in his chest at that thought, but he knew that that was exactly the way it needed to be. If he was going to be successful, he needed them to not know who he was.

He took a deep breath preparing to make his way into Verdant, he was just a couple blocks away now. He just prayed he wouldn't do or say anything stupid that would get his ass kicked. Of all the things to get from his mother, besides her jaw and natural hair color, he most definitely got her tendency to say things without meaning to. Things that could get him in trouble.

One more deep breath and he was back on his feet, moving quickly. That was until he saw the entrance to Verdant and could hear the loud bass bumping around the walls. 

Nerves and excitement battled within his gut as he stopped again and took it all in. 

“Ok, this is it.” he whispered to himself as he zipped his black hoodie up a little bit more and straightened his back. He hears his fathers voice in his head telling him to, ’always keep your back straight when going anywhere, it exudes confidence’. He has always took that piece of advice to heart; and tonight with what he was doing, he needed to project an air of confidence. They wouldn't trust him if he didn't trust in himself.

“Let's do this.” he said outloud to himself as he walked up the steps and into Verdant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oliver walks down the stairs to the foundry, carrying a still unconscious Felicity in his arms.

He walks to the med table and lays her down.

“Is she ok?” Roy asks urgently, his worry peaked when he saw with the cut on her head and how tattered up both of their clothes were.

“She’s just knocked out,” Oliver breathes out to Roy and Diggle as the look them both over.

“It's all over the news, police and fire on the scene.” Dig says gruffly.

“Yeah I didn't think it was best to stay around and answer questions.” Oliver snaps out, still not entirely sure what happened back there.

“Oliver, what happened back there?” Dig asks, his voice slightly softer than it was a minute ago.

He shakes his head and heaves out a heavy breath, leaning over the med table Felicity is laid on, he drops his head to his hands. Taking a moment to think before standing up straight again and looking directly at Dig. 

“I’m not entirely sure.” He says hesitantly.

“What does that mean?” Roy asks cautiously as Dig gives Oliver an inquisitive look, not fully believing him.

As Oliver is about to continue explaining, he turns back to Felicity, placing his hand on her arm when she suddenly wakes up with a jump, looking for only him.

“Oliver!” She almost yells in her surprise wake up.

He moves so quickly, holding her arms so she knows he is there, “Hey, Hey, hey, it's safe. You’re safe. I'm here.”

She is breathing so hard it has him worried, but as he reassures her they are ok and together and safe, he breathing returns to normal as she lies back down to get a grip on reality. 

After a moment of deep, measured breaths, his head leaning on her shoulder, breathing along with her, she attempts to sit up. He steps back from her slightly, helping her into a seated position, her legs dangling off the side of the med table.

“What the hell was that?” She asks, her voice a mixture of bewilderment and anger, both moods stemming from almost being blown up.

“An explosion.” Oliver says evasively. Not meeting her eyes.

He then hears a scoff and a sigh, the scuff coming from her, as if saying ‘no shit sherlock’, and the sigh coming from Dig who he knew was also shaking his head at him.

Just before anyone can say anything else, Felicity’s computer starts ringing, someone is trying to video call her. She goes to jump off the table, using Oliver's hand for leverage. Not noticing until just now that their hands have been together since she woke up.

She makes her way to her computer and sees Cisco’s picture flashing in front of her, confused she clicks on the answer the button and waits for it to connect.

In the 3 seconds it takes to connect, she hears Oliver step closer, not in the camera's view but close enough that he can still rest his hand on her back, as well as Dig and Roy step closer as well to hear what Cisco has to say. 

She would bet money that she heard Dig gruffly whisper to Oliver something along the lines of, ‘you're not getting out of telling us what happened and what you know’ before she heard Oliver sigh and slightly nod his head.

Then Cisco's face popped up in front of her eyes and he greeted her with a very loud excited “Felicity! Hey!” before he took in her appearance and said, “Woah, what happened to you?!”

Felicity looked down at herself and Oliver and saw that they were both in tattered up clothes from the explosion. ‘Oops…’ she thought to herself. She turned back to him, “Never Mind that Cisco, what's up with the impromptu video call?” She said quickly.

Cisco gave her a very quizzical look and then shrugged it off as he jumped right into his reason for calling in the first place.

“So I have all the precautions set up in the lab to look for any weird disturbances, especially since the particle accelerator went off and caused all kinds things to go haywire. Anyway, I got any alert, and by alert I mean my computer for odd disturbances went off the charts crazy, about 20 minutes ago. When I brought it up to see what the problem was, it was non-distinguishable, so I tracked the waves and I found it be some weird space/time disturbance. I mean we have seen some crazy things lately but I can't explain this right now. I have my theories but… for another time.” He let it all out really quickly and in almost all one breath. 

After Felicity listened and processed what she had just heard, the phrase 'space/time disturbance blowing her mind, she realized she still had no idea why Cisco was calling and telling her this. She wasn't a scientist, she had no idea what any of this meant.

“That's fine and all Cisco, but why are you telling me this? I don't know anything about a space/time disturbance.” 

He looked at her confused for a second and then snapped his fingers as it dawned on him that he never actually told her the real reason. “Because, Felicity, it happened in Starling. I even narrowed down the city block in which it occurred at in Starling! I was within the block of 84th between Ryan and Brown.”

Felicity stopped at that, holding in a breath, hoping these two things weren’t related but knowing that they were. 

She let out a shaky breath and looked back at Cisco, “Thank you for letting me know Cisco. Um,” she ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes for a second before continuing. That was when she felt Oliver's hand on her back tracing small circles of comfort, even though his fingers were rigid and she knew he was tense about this conversation. “any idea if this kind of disturbance could cause a small explosion in or around the spot it occurred?”

He looked at her with question in his gaze as he pondered her question. “I suppose so, I have never seen anything like this so to be honest. The probability of that is high though.” He said in an oddly even tone.

“Thanks Cisco, we will be on the lookout. I gotta go, tell Caitlyn I said hi.” She said her goodbyes with Cisco and hung up.

She fet Dig take a step back and heard him cross his arms.

“What is a space/time disturbance?” Roy asked bluntly from behind her.

Felicity dropped her head down, just letting it hang loose for a second, taking a deep breath.

Oliver then rubbed one last circle across her back, straightened up and took a step back.

“On the island, I saw some things. Things I can't really explain, nothing like this but not unlike it either.” He looked to each of his team mates.

Upon hearing his words, Felicity lifter her head, turned around and faced him directly. “I know you won't tell us more and you don't have to, but if you know something that can help us figure this out Oliver, you can not keep that to yourself.” Her voice getting dangerously close to her loud voice. 

Everyone in the room almost visibly took a step back, knowing that her loud voice is something that you do not mess around with.

Oliver sighed out a long breath, “All I know is that when people try to mess with things that aren't supposed to be messed with, or that aren't from our time yet, they can have a bad reactions when set off. That being said, I don't know what that was tonight but I am willing to go out there once the police are done canvassing the area to see what I can find out to better my assumptions.”

She looked at him for a long moment after his explanation and gave a short nod, “Fine, I can deal with that.”

Dig nodded too as Roy just shrugged, not fully understanding what was going on but willing to wait to find out.

Once everyone had visibly relaxed, Roy turned towards the med table and picked up the phone that was going off that was on it, “Oliver, man, someone is blowing you up.”

Dig, Oliver, and Felicity all gave him an incredulous look.

Roy’s eyes widened and a slightly terrified look crossed his face, “Bad wording, too soon. My bad. But seriously, here.” He says as he hands the phone to Oliver. 

He looks down and sees that infact the manager of the club has been calling him, 7 times to be exact. Confused by this, he raises the phone to his ear and calls her back.

In no more than two rings his club manager Katie has already answered. “Katie, what's up? Everything ok?” He pulled the phone back and put it on speaker, sensing the eyes boring into his back full of question.

“Um, Mr. Queen, there is a guy here, he says he needs to talk to you and that it is urgent. He won't give me a name, just says that you are the one he is looking for. Should I call security or escort him to your office to wait for you?” 

Oliver looked to Felicity who was already moving to her chair pulling up the security feed in the club above them. Scoring the cameras for a moment, they all could see who it was the manager Katie was talking about. 

Felicity looked up from her chair to Oliver, John, and Roy, silently asking if they recognized the man asking for Oliver. They all shook their heads no.

“Katie, I will be there in about 10 minutes. Have him take a seat at the bar and give him a drink on me. And Katie,” he said with slight command in his voice,

“Yes, Mr. Queen?”

“Don't let him leave.” Those were his last words to his manager before he hung up.

Oliver turned around, Roy was staring at the guy, boy actually, he looked more like a boy, 20 maybe was his guess, on the screen. “Roy? You ok? Do you know this kid?” Oliver asked, stepping closer to him to get his full attention as Felicity and Dig looked on, equal wonder in their minds about the look on Roy’s face.

Straightening up, Roy looked at Oliver, “No, I don't know him. He just kind of looks familiar, but I'm not sure why. I promise I don't know him though.”

Oliver nodded at Roy and turned to face Felicity, “Felicity…?”

She was already turning her chair back towards her computer, “Already on it, I have my database running facial recognition now.”

He smiled at her, still completely amazed by the woman that she is.

“We should get cleaned up and changed. I need to find out who this kid is and then get back to the restaurant to canvas the scene.” He looked to Roy and Dig who nodded and went back to what they were doing before Oliver rushed in earlier. 

Oliver then took a step forward to Felicity and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, let's go get cleaned up.”

She looked up to him with those trusting, beautiful blue eyes of hers and nodded before standing up and leading the way over towards the bed and dresser she had set up for him in the foundry. 

He follows her, stopping when they reach the dresser where they each kept a change of clothes. He stills her hand before she can open the drawer, causing her to raise her eyes to meet his.

“Hey. How are you doing? Are you ok?” Oliver asks in that soft caring tone of voice he only seems to get around her, the same tone that makes her knees weak and those damn butterflies return to her stomach.

She smiled, that alone giving him the reassurance he was looking for, but she spoke anyway.

“I am. Believe it or not, I have had worst first dates.” Her hand that is in his, gives a tight squeeze as they continue to look into eachothers eyes. He hold her gaze, just long enough that when he looks away, he knows she is telling the truth and is satisfied by what he found in that look.

She blushes and looks down. Removing her hand from his, she pulls open the drawer and pulls out the spare jeans and t-shirt she kept there. She grabbed his clothes as well and handed them to him.

“Here, go change. We have some mysteries to figure out. And I for one do not like mysteries, they are meant to be solved.” She spoke with such determination. He was still awed by her, everyday she proved her strength and that is something he will always admire about her.

Not entirely sure how, but he managed to say something, urging her to use the lairs small bathroom to change. He waits for her to shut the door before he goes over by his bed, quickly changing out of his ruined suit.

He scrubbed his hand over his face, trying to prepare for what was to come.

She exited the bathroom and together they went back into the main part of the foundry where Diggle and Roy were waiting. Dig sliding his gun into the back of his jeans and Roy straightening up his shirt.

Oliver looked at his team and nodded to them, proud of what they were and what they stood for together.

“Felicity, I need you to secure the cameras and watch for any oncoming threats, we will all have our comms on so if you see anything, speak up.” He turned from her and his eyes landed on Dig, “Dig you will be my right hand, by my side.” His eyes shifted to the Roy next to Diggle, “Roy I want you on the balcony, keep look out and be ready to move at any moment.” They all nodded and went their collective ways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking in and heading straight for the bar, he looked for the manager, knowing the person he was looking for most likely wasn't here. At least not in the club part of here anyway.

“Hey,” he spoke up to the nearest bar tender. “Is the manager in?” She smiled shyly at him and nodded and turned to find the manager. 

About a minute later, a petite redhead in a much more professional outfit walked up to him and extended her hand to him, “Hello, I'm Katie, the manager here. Is there anything I can help you with tonight?”

He smiled his charmingly handsome smile at her and shook her hand in greeting. “Good evening Katie, yes as a matter of fact you can. I am looking for Oliver Queen. I need to speak to him right away, it's quite urgent.”

She smiled back at him, almost instantly mush from just looking at him, but she remained professional. “And what would you be needing Mr. Queen for this evening? Maybe it is something I can assist you with.”

He looked at her and shook his head, still a smile on his face but his lips tightened just slightly. “I'm sorry Katie but that won't be possible. I need to speak with Oliver Queen directly. He is the one I am looking for and need to speak with.”

“Ok.” She said before looking down to her phone and then back up to him, “I'm sorry I didn't catch your name…?”

“That's because I didn’t give it. I want this is to a surprise for him.” He stated with as much pep in his voice as he could muster up for this poor girl.

She slid a water to him as she tried to call Oliver, after a few attempts he stopped watching her, suddenly feeling very put off by the fact that he probably showed up at a time where the entire team was out patrolling or something. 

About 10 minutes and a glass and a half of water later, man he must have been thirstier than the thought, she finally approached him again. “I got a hold of Mr. Queen, he said he will be here in about 10 minutes. You can wait here for him to meet you. He also offered you any drink of your choice on the house. What can I get for you?”

She smiled a genuine smile to her, “Well thank you Katie. I appreciate that but no thank you. I will wait here though.”

She nodded and made her way back to the opposite end of the bar.

He looked around the club and took in how very green everything was. Makes sense, verdant means green; not to mention the owner is a guy who dresses up in green leather every night and saves the city. ‘Clever’, he thought to himself, but he is also glad this color scheme wasn't an option when they refurbished QI in his time. He shook his head and continued to take everything in.

That's when he heard someone clear their throat directly behind him and he whirled around, part out of surprise for Oliver getting the jump on him, and part because he knew he couldn't react the way he typically would to someone sneaking up on him. 

Oliver took in the startled 20 something in front of him, sizing the kid up. Tall, almost as tall as him, light brown hair, dark blue eyes that kept shifting around but never leaving his own. Decent build too, noting that the kid looks decidedly strong and may be able to hold his own if things came down to a fight. Oliver also noticed the backpack on the ground and the small burn hole in the kids shoe, something the kid didn't even notice himself.

Straightening up, Oliver extends his hand. “Oliver Queen. I hear you were looking for me?” He tried to sound as pleasant and professional as possible but his guard is up.

The kid look him in the eyes and extended his hand to Oliver's, giving it a tight grip as he shook it. “Nice to meet you. I'm Tommy, Tommy Knight.”

Tommy quickly checks to see who Oliver has brought with him. Diggle stands behind Oliver, always the ‘bodyguard’, he thinks to himself. He glanced around and saw Roy at the balcony by a table pretending to be security but he can see him looking at him inquisitively. He then sees the small cameras discreetly placed around the club, and that when he realizes that Felicity must be on watch.

He returns his eyes to Oliver, seeing the older man giving him a serious look, truly the definition of intimidating. It makes Tommy think about how hard this was already, but seeing this look in Oliver's eyes, it's like a knife slowly digging into his side. He takes a deep breath. All he sees on Olivers face is suspicion, and all he wants to do is make that look go away.

Oliver is watching Tommy like a hawk. He sees him catch sight of Diggle and maybe even Roy, he doesn't trust him. The next words out of Tommy's mouth though, they do the trick to throw Oliver off his trust train completely.

Tommy takes a deep breath and straightens his back, “Yeah, I need to talk to you.” That when Tommy notices something on Oliver's neck and chuckles. Receiving a glare from Oliver as well as Diggle. “Word of advice: you might want to clean up a little better next time after you go out patrolling. The blood on your neck isn't exactly club owner attire.”

Tommy chuckles to himself before fully realizing what he had said, eyes going wide as he clamps both hands over his mouth to shut himself up. ‘Dammit’, he thinks to himself, ‘I knew I would say something I shouldn't’, as he berated himself.

He probably would have laughed at the blanched look on both Oliver and Diggles faces, Roy's too probably if he looked up there, if he was home he knew he would have, but he was now in a place and time that wasn't his and is way too terrified to look anywhere but directly in Oliver's eyes. 

“Come with me.” Oliver demands and takes two quick steps towards him, grabbing him by the arm tightly and dragging him in the back to his office. Tommy can only think how much shit he is in now, he should have just kept his mouth shut and played it cool. He sighs loudly as he follows along, Oliver dragging him away to the back.

Diggle grabs the kid's backpack off the floor, quietly talking into his comm, letting Felicity and Roy know what was happening and follows Oliver. Diggle knew Oliver was going to get answers from this kid, one way or another.


	2. Who are you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little more information about the new comer comes to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OhMyGosh! Guys I am so sorry I took forever to post this! I had a plan to post every week and that got wiped away by how busy I got! I have 3 jobs right now and trying to write, sleep, eat, and still have a life has got me going crazy! But I am sinceriously so sorry! I will try to be more diligent with posting! Maybe not every week like I originally planned but at least every other week!

Tommy was stumbling behind Oliver as his grip bit into his arm. Oliver turned a corner and threw open the door on the left. Yanking Tommy into the office and pushing him in further, with a bit more force than necessary, but he had seen Oliver in a mood before and this was nothing compared to what he knew he could do. He was quite obviously very annoyed and most definitely wanted answers.

Stumbling forwards he got his footing before turning to look at Oliver who was just staring at Tommy with an unnervingly blank expression.

Diggle followed them into the office, no trace of surprise on his face. He was used to how Oliver handled things. Just as he was about to close the door, Roy slipped in.

Roy took in the room and nodded at Oliver who only made the slightest ghost of a nod back. Roy had to be in there, he just couldn't shake the weird feeling he had about this kid, especially after hearing that he supposedly knew what Oliver did with his nights.

Dig then closed the door and locked it.

The sound of lock clicking made him swallow hard. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this. Fear crept up his throat as he turned and looked to the three men who all looked a lot bigger than him in this moment.

His eyes bounced between all three before landing on Oliver’s and making direct eye contact with him. He wasn't sure what he saw in his eyes but it was enough to make him step back, bumping into the chair that was unknowingly behind him. 

‘For someone who is supposed to be trained in knowing my surroundings, I am sucking hard at that right now.’ He thought to himself.

Oliver gave him a look that, even without words, blatantly said ‘sit down’. He then made a small head nod to the chair to emphasize his point.

Growing up he never understood what always made people fear the Green Arrow, no The Arrow, he is the Arrow in this time, he mentally smacked himself. But now, looking at this man and seeing the look in his eyes right now as he started Tommy down, Tommy knew why. One look from this man and you would almost literally shit your pants. Yup, never doubting the stories again.

Getting in trouble as a kid and getting disapproving looks was one thing, but this was a look he never wanted to see again. It was the perfect combination of disapproval, distrust, anger, annoyance, and something else he couldn't read. 

Tommy quickly sat down in the chair as Oliver rounded on him and stood directly in front of the chair. Leaning against the desk that is now behind Oliver's thighs.

Tommy watches quizzically as Oliver's gaze never leaves his face, he folds his arms across his chest and gives him a fairly menacing glare.

He had also heard about this look, it was the one that came before someone spilled their all their secrets or if that didn't work, something much much worse.

Swallowing hard again, Tommy looks up at Oliver. Determined, stupid also he will admit, but determined, he straightens his stance in his chair and looks Oliver dead in the eyes, not backing down.

Roy sees what Tommy is doing and shifts almost uncomfortably. His brain knows something is going on here but he just can't seem to connect the dots enough to make logical sense of it.

Roy and Dig both cross their arms and watch on, waiting to see what is going to transpire.

Oliver being Oliver, doesn't play games, he skipped right to the point.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?”

Tommy blinks in surprise at the question but answers quickly.

“My name is Tommy Knight and I am here to get a little help to save my family.” The words leave his mouth before he has had a moment to consider what he was going to say.

Oliver looks at him seriously, giving him his squinty eye glare.

“You’re lying.” He states bluntly.

‘Dammit, I can't even lie to the man in this time and he doesn't even know me here.’ Tommy thinks to himself. He recovers quickly though.

“I'm not lying! My family is in danger and I can't help them! At least, not alone I cant…” Tommy states the last part sadly, looking down at his hands.

Oliver straightens up, still not believing him but also sensing the kids hurt and sympathizing with him.

Oliver takes a deep breath, arms still crossed, “So you need help, fine. How do you know who I am and what I do?”

Tommy’s head snaps up, he has no answer to this question. He looks at Oliver and opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out.

Oliver quirks an eyebrow at him in question, “Well..? I am waiting to hear how you, some kid who we have never seen before,” which he knew because his comm was still in his ear and Felicity had told him facial recognition had come back negative, no traces of this kid anywhere. “Comes into my club and knows who we are and what we do?” 

Tommy stutters, this time out loud, “I, um,.. well, I can't… I, uh,... I can't answer that question…” He trails off, his tone suggesting he is disappointed in not being able to answer.

Oliver stands then and huffs out an agitated and un-amused chuckle. “You can't answer? You want our help and you won't even give me an answer on how it is exactly you know what we do?” That same chuckle resonates in Oliver's chest and it is enough that it makes Tommy visibly shiver with, he isn't sure what, fear maybe? 

Suddenly something ripples through Tommy and he stands abruptly, coming face to face with Oliver, “It's not that I don't have an answer, I can answer you but it would be a lie. And I was always taught that if the truth is unable to be told, not to lie, lies make things worse. To always be honest and state that you can not answer the question. So that is what I can give you.” He said with all his might, he didn't like being laughed at, especially by Oliver.

All of a sudden he realized what he had done and stepped back, shying away just a bit. He meant to say what he had said but he hadn’t meant to get in Olivers face. He had only done this once before in his life and it didn't end well.

Dig stepped forward and placed his hand on Tommy’s shoulder, a silent suggestion to sit back down before Oliver snapped.

“Oliver, I'm sorry.” He sighed as he sat down and looked up at Oliver. His shoulders sagging, “This is a tough thing for me. Coming to you, coming here and asking for help. Not telling you everything I want to. It hard for me.” He looked down to his hands as he fidgeted.

Oliver looked at him and turned away, he walk behind his desk and leaned over it. Looking up at Tommy, he hesitated not knowing where to start with the kid. 

That is when he heard her speak up, loud and clear in his ear, his comm coming to life with the sound of her soft voice.

“Oliver, he needs our help. This is what we do. We help people who are in need of our assistance.” 

He sighed as she continued, “Oliver look at him, he looks completely defeated and sad. Do I think we need to get answers about how he knows what you do, yeah. But I think we can get that answered later and try to help him now, first.” 

Oliver looks up at the kid and analyzes him, seeing exactly what Felicity said was written all over his face. He turned his head towards the hidden camera in the corner and nodded.

“Thank you, Oliver. I think he really needs us.” Hearing the smile on her lips as she spoke.

She said those words and if Tommy had heard them he would have been shocked by how utterly close to home they hit with him.

Oliver turned back to Tommy, Dig and Roy now standing closer to the defeated looking kid, who in this state looked even younger that he was. “We will help you.” 

Tommy’s head flew up and he sat up straight again looking Oliver in the eyes. “Seriously?”

Oliver nodded at him, “On one condition…” Oliver said and Tommy's eyes got large in shock but he could see hesitance run threw his eyes.

“Which is…?” Tommy asks skeptically.

“You start, by telling me who else knows about what we do. Then, you tell us everything that you can so that we can help you. No lies to any of us. Do you understand?” His voice going dangerously low.

Tommy felt awkward sitting so he stood, he swallowed hard and nodded. He knows this is a voice that means business, he has always respected that and he won't stop now. “Yes sir.” Tommy said with more of that determination, the same determination he knew came from his father, and did the only thing that he could think of, something that would make his uncle proud. He reached his hand out for Oliver to shake.

Tommy watched Oliver look him over once more and then give a tight nod back, reaching out and shaking the kids hand in a tight steady shake before letting go and sitting down in the chair at his desk. The tension in the room visible easing out.

Tommy sat back down too, nervous all of a sudden. 

Oliver spoke up then, “Who else knows about what we do?”

Shaking his head, Tommy let out a laugh, “No one except myself, you three, and if I'm correct, a blonde in the basement.” He chuckled to himself.

When he looked up he saw the seriously scary look on Olivers face. “What? Am I not supposed to bring her up? I would have bet money, not a lot because I don't actually have much, that she was here. I’m even almost willing to wager she is sitting in front of a few computers right now getting really frustrated about why she can't find me in any database.” He rambled on, not sure when to stop. Rambling seemed a lot safer than silently staring at Oliver.

All of a sudden, Roy straightened his posture as a small bit of recognition raced through his mind. He wanted to say something but figured now was not the right time. 

“Am I wrong? Is Felicity not here?” Tommy ended.

Oliver, king of evasiveness as Felicity has called him on more than one occasion, avoided his question. “So you are telling me that other than us, you are the only one who knows what we are doing and you haven't told anyone else?”

“That is exactly what I am saying. I would have no one here to tell anyway. Not that I will, because I won't. Just me, myself, and I.” Tommy sputtered out.

He is almost sure he heard Dig give a small chuckle. As endearing as that was, he knew it could also be bad, he couldn't risk doing or saying anything else. Dig was quiet yet perceptive, he couldn't risk being figured out by John.

Oliver raised an eyebrow at the kid but shook his head and stood up. “Come on, if we are going to talk, and we are. We need to discuss everything in a more secure location.”

Tommy followed suit and stood as well. Dig opened the door and Oliver and Tommy walked out first, followed closely by Roy and Dig. 

Just as they were about to turn down a secondary hallway instead of going back out into the club, one that he had missed on their way to the office, ‘seriously, I am losing my edge, dad would not approve.’ he thought to himself just before they made it to a door with a very expensive looking piece of tech on it securing that door to stay locked.

Just as Oliver raised his hand to place in the key code, he heard someone call out from behind them.

“Ollie!” Laurel said, trying to catch their attention as she made her way over to them.

She stopped short upon looking at Tommy, eyes going wide and mouth dropping open. 

“Laurel?” Oliver said moving from the door to step closer to her, “Are you ok?”

She blinked rapidly a few times before turning to look at Oliver and back to Tommy and then back to Oliver. “Wow.” She let out in a breathy voice. 

“What?” Oliver asked, completely perplexed by her odd behavior.

She smiled and chuckled softly, “Whats with the mini-me, Ollie?”

He looked at her with utter confusion written across his face, and he repeated his question. “What?” his tone slightly more incredulous than it had been when he asked her the first time.

“Come on, Ollie. You don't see it?” She looked at him with minor shock at how he wasn't seeing what she was. She shook her head and sighed in resignation. “Ok, so... Who is this kid?!”

All of a sudden, like a giant punch to the gut, it all made sense in Roy’s mind. Everything came full circle at hearing Laurel’s words. 

Before Oliver or Tommy could say anything in response to Laurel, Roy let out a quiet but full of shock and awe, “Holy shit.” under his breath. Not quiet enough though because all eyes turned to him. Even Felicity, who was still listening in on the comms said, “Roy? What is it?” 

Roy made direct eye contact with Tommy, his features screaming questions and accusations he couldn't say out loud. But it was enough that Tommy’s eyes went wide as he realized that Roy had just pieced together what was supposed to be his most well kept secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is it, chapter 2. I hope you liked it. Kinda leaving you with small cliffhanger. If you have any questions or idea about who Tommy is, feel free to guess away! This is going in an AU way based off of past canon, so stick around, its only going to get better! Also, please leave likes and reviews! They feed my writers soul!


	3. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy tells the team something they need to know, while one member of the team finds out more than they bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update! Yes! I knew I would do well! Well here you go! Thank you to the people who commented and reviewed on the last two chapters, you are all such smart people, I love it!! Well, wait no more, here is the continuation! Enjoy!

“Something you would like to share, Roy?” Oliver speaks evenly, though slightly irritated at everyone saying things but not explaining themselves.

Roy looked Tommy down hard for about three long seconds, three of the longest seconds of Tommy's young life, fear shooting through him.

Turning to Oliver, Roy shook his head. “No, sorry. Nothing to be concerned over right now.”

Oliver nodded but kept this filed away in his mind to ask Roy about after everything going on tonight had been settled.

Tommy’s body visibly relaxed a little bit at knowing Roy wasn't going to out his secret right then and there. But he was still completely terrified of what he would to him now that he knew the truth.

He gave Roy a thankful nod but Roy just glared at him.

Oliver turned to Laurel and moved on from whatever it was Laurel was going on about when she came over to them. 

“Whats up, Laurel?” Oliver asked her, turning from Roy to her. 

“What am I doing here? Ollie, I'm the ADA, that means I get called to crime scenes when I'm needed. And boy, are you lucky it was me that got to the security tapes first tonight. You leaving a crime scene, oddly enough one where you're not completely dressed in leather, and carrying an unconscious girl out after an explosion. Lucky for you my dad didn't see the tape before I got to it.” She explained, exasperated.

Oliver eyes hard grown to the size of saucers. He took a deep shaky breath at the same time he hear Felicity in his ear go “Uh-oh”. 

In that moment it clicked in Tommy’s head, where he had landed with his time jump. A giant lump formed in his throat as his hand unconsciously went to the small device in his back pocket. 

Thinking on things now, it was definitely a bad idea to have put the focus directly on Oliver when he made his jump, it took him to the place where he was, well outside of where he was. Losing his focus mid jump had almost ended in disaster - his landing was rough, his device backfired causing damage to the security system at the restaurant resulting in the explosion.

He groaned to himself as Laurels words slapped him in the face; the restaurant he accidentally blew up, where Oliver and Felicity were having dinner. ‘Ugh, could I have made this day any worse?’ he thought to himself, he hangs his head in silent shame. The thought of almost killing them making him nauseous. 

“Laurel, I had to get out of there…” Oliver says quietly, not having the best excuse, just knowing he had to keep Felicity safe, that was all that mattered in that moment, getting her to safety.

“Um, guys, how about we continue this,” Roy motions with his hands to all of them, “all of this, down there.” He says it in a low tone.

Oliver nods and turns to the door once more, types in his key code and you can hear the electronic latch on the steel door release as it unlocks and Oliver pushes it open. He heads down the stairs as the rest follow.

Felicity, who is now standing by the foot of the stairs instead of by her computers, anxiously waiting to greet them.

“Finally, you guys were up there forever.” she says in mock exasperation with a teasing smile on her face. One that Oliver knows is because she wanted to actually be there for these conversations, not just over hear them on the comms.

Oliver lets out a breathy chuckle before his hand gently finds her back and they walk into the middle of the foundry, team still following behind.

Tommy observes Oliver's actions as he nears Felicity, the ghost of a smile he knew he couldn't control, the hand going to her back almost instinctively. He smiled slightly at the realization that they are two people who he had a feeling would always be like that, almost like magnets.

He catches Roy’s glare at him as he sees his smile after looking to Oliver and Tommy’s smile disappears so fast you could have missed it if you blinked.

They make a circle around the med table in the middle and are silent for a few seconds, trying to figure out where to start.

Oliver is looking at Felicity who is looking at Tommy in way that that telling him she is trying to figure him out. Tommy is looking at Oliver as he tries to think of an explanation that isn't a full lie. Laurel is looking at Tommy trying to piece together who he is. Roy has his eyes averted completely, looking down at the table, and Dig is standing there with an amused look on his face taking it all in.

Tommy takes a deep breath and looks around the circle at each one of them. “I'm Tommy.” He introduced himself for the ones who were there for the little meeting in the office.

A sharp intake of breath comes from Laurel at the name. She is taken aback by it.  
Tommy winces slightly, almost so slightly it is unnoticeable, unless you were Oliver or Roy, one of which has keen perception skills and the other who just wished everything wasn’t making even more sense the more he observed.

Felicity reaches her hand out, “Nice to meet you Tommy.”

He extends his hand to her and shakes it gently, trying to push back the overwhelming feeling of comfort at her touch.

“Its nice to meet you too Miss Smoak. Or Felicity. Or um, uh, I probably should have let you introduce yourself first. I'm sorry, I tend to put my foot in my mouth sometimes and overstep my bounds. Sorry.” He releases her hand shoves it in his pocket, his ramble making himself slightly self conscious and embarrassed.

She smirked at him, looked to Oliver and nodded, and then back to Tommy. “I guess we will start there then won't we. It seems you have some things to explain to us.”

“Uh, yeah. I kinda do…” he trailed off nervously. 

She gave him a quick once over, “Good, let's start with that burn mark on your shoe. Looks fresh, what happened?” She starts, blunt as always. 

He is completely taken aback, he didn't even know there was a burn mark, as he looks down and sees it, at least not until now. He was so preoccupied with trying to get out of that alley and to make sure none of his actual clothing was burned, he hadn't even seen the burn there.

Oliver, who most definitely saw that burn on the shoe when they met him in the club, turned to stare at Felicity, proud by her noticing that. He was in awe of her, overwhelmed by the pride and love swelling within him over her. Before he could let that take over, he turned back to Tommy, giving him his stern ‘answer the question’ look. One Tommy knew all too well.

Now, feeling caught between a rock and a hard place, with not only Oliver and Felicity looking at him with waiting looks, Roy, Dig, and Laurel all looked on, equally as interested.

“I can’t..., I can’t tell you that…” he said meekly. All he wanted to do was look at these people and tell them the truth. But he had been warned by his aunt, not to tell unless it was life or death. Though with everyone looking at him like they were, he was almost guaranteed this could be considered life or death, for him anyway.

Felicity let out a deep sigh, Roy rolled his eyes, and Oliver let out a low and almost inaudible growl, all at once. If he hadn't have known these people, he may have missed each one.

“Unless you don't want our help, you have to tell us, man.” Dig spoke this time. 

Tommy looks up to Dig, straightening his back to get better footing as he looked up to the 6’5” man that was John Diggle. 

“You wouldn't believe me even if i told you the truth.” He said to everyone, but looking at Dig when he said it, even in Tommy’s time, Diggle had a hard time accepting the weird things life threw at them.

“Try us.” Oliver spoke up in his low even tone. Making Tommy turn from Diggle and back to Oliver.

Getting slightly frustrated, he huffed out a sigh. Taking a deep breath, he said to himself, ‘screw it’, and let the words flow.

“I'm from the future! I came here to get your help to stop someone who has hurt my family in unforgivable ways and upon hurting my family has begun a downfall of a lot of good that could be done but isn't being done because there is now no one to stop all the bad. This person in my time is stronger and more devoted to his cause than anyone I know, and that is saying a lot! But in this time, he is just a teenager, he’s just, someone who can be stopped.” He let out in an aggravated rush, his voice getting lower with his last five words.

He looked Oliver dead in the eyes, afraid to look at any of the other occupants of the room.

Oliver looked at Tommy questioningly, taking in all he said. Then his expression changed to a dark understanding before he nodded and quietly said, “I see.”

Everyone in the room went eerily quiet after that. A good solid minute went by, one of the longest minutes Tommy had ever felt.

“That's how your shoe got burnt!” Felicity let out excitedly, and pointed down at Tommy’s feet. A huge grin spread across her face, proud of herself for having figured it out.

He whipped his head to her and shyly nodded. Still ashamed because he was remembering now that Oliver and Felicity had been in the restaurant he inadvertently blew up.

Roy just shook his head to himself and looked down.

Taking a shaky breath, Laurel began, “You are from the future. And you came here, when…? Tonight?” She asked and he nodded. “And the burn mark is…?”

“A minor mistake I had while getting here. Yeah.” He sighed as he looked at Laurel.

“How?” she asked.

“Well, I had to focus on someone to get here, the person who was helping me gave me a general point in time and person to focus on and I did. Until mid time jump I lost my focus and started to freak out. I pulled myself together and was able to refocus, I still got here where I was suppose to be but I messed up my landing and probably caused a bigger rift than I meant to. As myself and time caught up with each other and where I landed, it caused a small electrical burst, which slightly blew up what was closest to me in the alley I was in. That just so happened to be a nice Italian restaurant.” He quickly turned to Oliver and Felicity. “I am so, so, so sorry about that, by the way! If I had known you two were having a nice dinner I would not have lost so much focus, I really hope I didn't hurt you guys. I mean you look fine now which is a good sign that you both are ok and I mean I'm,.. I'm just really sorry!” He looked at them and you could see the almost palpable hurt on his expression and in his eyes.

“Tommy it's fine, we are both perfectly fine. Just a few scratches. And I saw Captain Lances report, only a few small injuries at the restaurant, nothing major.” Felicity reassured him. She wasn't sure why but she had an overwhelming need to comfort him after seeing the look on his face.

“Don't worry kid, all is good.” Oliver assured him too, just not as good naturedly as Felicity had. Oliver was still going through everything in his mind.

All of a sudden Dig loses his cool, “How is this not freaking any of you out?! You all just accept his wack-a-doodle story and continue on? Did I miss a memo where time travel is a real thing all of a sudden?” John loses it, not able to fully accept it all in his mind.

Oliver chuckles and Felicity rolls her eyes like the whole thing is just a walk in the park.

“John, this is what Cisco warned us about. He said that there was some weird disturbance with the space/time order in Starling and that the cause was right around the restaurant. This makes perfect sense, and he didn't even know that Cisco had found that out for us, so he can't be lying.” Felicity explains to Diggle.

Dig throws his hands in the air, frustrated that he is the only one put off by everything.

Felicity starts in on one her her babbles about the tech that could be behind something with these kinds of capabilities and how if only she could get her hands on it then she could learn so much from it and advance on her own codes right now for things. 

As the team let's Felicity ramble on, Oliver just watching her with his arms crossed as he slowly paces around behind her, only moving slightly when she turns back to her computers to see if she can hack into Cisco's computer to figure out what algorithm they used to track this change. Laurel watched on, letting it all sink in. Diggle was trying to let it all absorb, though he was having a difficult time doing so.

As Tommy looked around the room, he was suddenly yanked backwards by a strong grip around his upper arm. Roy was pulling Tommy to the back of the foundry where the training mats were at, also the quietest place in the whole foundry. Stopping abruptly, Roy faced Tommy, a stern look in his eye.

“Am I wrong?” Roy asks in a dark tone, one that could almost rival Oliver's ‘Arrow voice’.

“About what?” Tommy asks, trying to play dumb.

“Don't play games.” Roy growls out. “You talk like him yet you ramble like her, you hold yourself strong but you know when it's time to be real. You freaking look just like him and her equally, with her chin and his jaw and their damn combined eyes. This, is freaking me out.” He says as he point directly at Tommy’s face. 

Tommy takes a small step back and Roy sees it and takes a deep breath to keep himself calm. 

“What is your name?” Roy asked carefully. 

“I told you, it's Tommy.” He says easily enough.

“What is your real name, not that bullshit name you gave us out there. I already know, so just tell me the truth. Either that or you can tell me I'm wrong, that what I’m seeing is just me imagining it all. You gotta tell me something and quick because once she realizes you aren't over there to give her an assist with figuring out how you got here, this conversation will be had in front of the others too.”

Tommy swallowed hard and let out a shaky breath. “Fine! Fine. My name isn't Tommy Knight. My name is Robert Thomas Queen. I go by Tommy though, after the uncle I never knew who died before I was born.” He said sadly. “There. That's who I am. They can't know this though! If they know, it could change something, something big possibly, like maybe my existence for example.”

Roy nodded at the name, glad he knew yet anxious that he was now the only one who knew. But when Tommy's last comment registered in his mind, it had Roy choking on the air. He didn't know this kid, but he did know that he would never let anything happen to him, not if he had anything to do with it.

All of a sudden a wave of protectiveness washed over Roy and he placed a hand on Tommy's shoulder. “We won't let that happen. You will be here. Now and when you get here. Whenever that is, and I do not want to know!” Roy said, joking off the slight sentiment. He wasn't the gooey type.

“Thanks Uncle Roy.” Tommy stopped short and quick. “I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I practiced this before I came here, it's just being this close to you all, makes it hard.”

Roy's eyebrows shot up at the name and it made his heart swell just a bit. “I understand. Just try not to let that happen again. I'm only like 5 years older than you here, that's just weird.” He said as he clapped his hand on Tommy’s shoulder again before they walked back to the group.

“Tommy, what brought you here?” Felicity asks as Tommy leans down, resting his forearms on top of the cold metal of the med table.

Tommy reaches in his pocket and pulls out something that resembles a pocket watch. He dangles it from his hand and collects it back into the palm of his hand. “This. But I can't give it to you.” 

With that she turns in her chair so quickly it scares him. But not as much as the look that is in her eyes. He quickly tries to explain himself.

“I can't give this to you, if I did it might mess things up. Like how I got here in the first place. If you see this and check its tech you will find things you aren't supposed to know yet and that could be bad. I knew someone who drilled the words ‘future consequences’ into my brain enough before I came here, I am not ruining more than I already might have by giving you this piece of tech.”

She glowered at him, her arms crossed as she gave him the stare down. He slipped his device back into his back pocket with his eyes never leaving hers, staring back at her with as much force as he could show in his eyes to prove how serious about this all he was.

“Ugh, fine. Don't show me. I’ll just have to figure it out on my own.” She turned back in her chair to her computers. Oliver let out a chuckle and placed his hand on her shoulder giving it a light comforting squeeze.

Tommy chuckled under his breath and smiled down at his hands while mumbling, “I’m sure you will.”

Oliver then turned to Tommy, ready get his part of the night's questions answered. 

“So, who is this someone in your future who caused you to have to come back in time to have to stop them?” Oliver asks. Everyone's ears perk up at the question but everyone also continues to remain doing what they are already doing. 

That is until Tommy says the name. The name that makes everyone in the foundry stop, even breathing has ceased momentarily.

“Wilson. Joe Wilson.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHH! Another cliffhanger-ish! I know I'm terrible! But I kind of love cliffhangers and I will tell you right now that a lot of my chapters may end like this, sorry! But...Thanks for reading guys! Next chapter will hopefully be up next Wednesday! Also, please read, review or comment, like, whatever. Feedback of all kinds feeds my writers soul! I love you all, thank you for the continued support!


	4. A Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little back story (forward story?) into Tommy coming to 2014

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for not updating in FOREVER! My computer broke and I lost my entire, already done, 4th chapter. Was able to save it finally and now I am updating. Please don't hate me. More coming soon! Like I am writing chapter 5 and 6 as I am uploading this one.

-The Lair Year 2040-

“Uncle Barry, please, just hear me out!” Tommy pleads as he follows Barry up onto the platform in the middle of the lair. 

Barry leans down and reaches behind a computer, grabbing a wire. He turns his head to Tommy, giving him his best disapproving grimace as he could muster up.

“No, Tommy. It's not a good idea.” Barry tells him, wiggling wires while he hopes not to mess anything up. “We will figure this out without you having to go back 20 plus years to do so.” 

“We have tried to fix this here, multiple times! I have tried, it almost killed me! All I want to do is get her back! Mom has it hard enough right now, and if I can go back in time, which still sounds crazy just saying, I can end this before it even starts!” Tommy exclaims at his uncle, his frustrations more than evident.

Barry sighed and shook his head, “Help me with this, Cisco says if we cross these wires and clip the blue wire then he should be all set.”

Tommy sighed and leaned down to help determine which wires Cisco was talking about. Once they figured it out, they both stood up and brushed themselves off.

“When your parents get back down here, everything will be up in tip top shape and accessible for all. No matter what, Cisco is making sure of that.” Barry put his hand on Tommy’s shoulder in reassurance.

Tommy’s face dropped, he didn't like to think about the damage that was already done. He had to see it every day, he didn't need to be reminded.

He shook off Barry’s hand and turned away.

“If I go back, I will be able to make sure none of this ever has to happen,” Tommy says quietly, looking at the wall full of suited up mannequins.

“Or you could get yourself killed.” Barry tries to reason with the kid.

Tommy spins around to face Barry in a blink of an eye.

“If I die, then nothing changes! But if I don't…” He trails off at the thought of what more is to possibly come. “He already has her, everyone else is already damaged. At least if I go I will have a fighting chance to change things!” 

“Tommy, your mother cannot stand to lose you too.” 

“If I fix things, no one will lose me. In fact, no one will lose anything or anyone.” Tommy says slightly hopeful.

“Tommy, have you thought about how, maybe if you do fix this one thing, something else could go horribly wrong?” Barry says stepping towards him.

“More horribly wrong then the kidnapping of my baby sister and her being held captive, incapacitating my mom and binding her to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, and making my father feel utterly useless by taking his arm off?! Not including he has also taken a member of, not only our team, but our family, and royally kicking my ass as well as Aunt Thea and Uncle Roy’s too.” He takes a deep breath to control himself. “What could be more horrible than what we have all already been through?”

 

Barry looks to the floor, knowing everything Tommy said was true. He knew a lot had already gone horribly and terribly wrong, but Barry couldn't resist the thought that came to mind and said one word.

“Existence.”

That stopped Tommy hard in his tracks. At first, it surprised him, then it confused him. He looked to his uncle and gave him a bewildered look.

“Meaning what, exactly?”

“Meaning that if you go back in time, to a time where you don't exist, you could very well possibly change things and cause yourself to not be born. Messing with time isn't a game, disturbing what seems like one little thing could cause a whole timeline for someone’s life to change. Trust me, I’d know. I don't want to risk that that life could very well end up being yours, Tommy.” Barry had stepped closer to Tommy while he talked, now he was about a foot away from him, he raised his hands to Tommy’s shoulders holding him tightly in place.

Tommy stood there shell shocked. Mouth hanging open slightly, eyebrows raised, swaying slightly on his feet under his uncle's hands.

“I… uh, I hadn't… I hadn't thought about that…” was all Tommy could say.

“That is why I don't think this is a good idea. Time travel is tricky, ask your Aunt Sara, she has built her life around it. It is not safe.”

Tommy stood there thinking for a second. Thinking about how it was possible to change something so much that it could literally cause himself to cease to exist. He couldn't just disappear though, could he? Maybe. Maybe not. 

Barry sighed, “Not all time travel changes things either.”

This caused Tommy to snap out of his train of thought and give Barry a very abrupt look of confusion. The question, ‘what the hell are you talking about?’ written all over his face.

“You know the story of the Reverse Flash, Tommy. But what you don't know is that he was the man who killed my mother. A good friend killed himself to stop the Reverse Flash from ever existing. Problem was, the damage in our world had already been done. My mother didn't come back because in our time he had killed her, but moving forward now, he will never exist.”

Tommy nodded at the extension of the story he already knew part of. 

“What I'm saying Tommy, is that there is a possibility that going back will change things and fix everything, but you could come back to this time and another time will go on being the way you corrected it to be. But you will never know.” Barry explained sympathetically.

Taking it all in, Tommy took a solemn breath. Then a thought came to him.

“No,” Tommy said as he looked into his uncle's eyes. “Uncle Barry, that's only if we use the speed force. Cisco and mom had figured a way around that last year.” 

Barry looks at the kid stunned, he was telling him something he knew nothing about and he didn't like it. 

Tommy ran over to the weapons case. In the case was a drawer, he opened it and pulled out what looked to be a pocket watch.

‘They would make something to travel through time out of an old watch.’ Barry thought to himself.

He ran the watch over to Barry, “Cisco and mom made this to give to Sara and Ray. Mom said it works. Though I don't know how she knows, but I would really rather not know.” He shook his head, “Cisco says this is the best way to change things and then return to what had changed and still be a part of it.” He handed Barry the watch and then looked on as Barry inspected it.

After a long moment of inspection, Barry looked up to Tommy. His resolve slowly fading.

“I still don't agree with this being a good idea.”

“Uncle Barry, if I can go back and stop all of this horror before it even begins, isn't that a big enough win for all of us to continue our lives without losing anything else?” Tommy explains to him in a questioning manner.

Barry sighs and nods as he eyes the pocket watch. Tommy’s words catch up Barry then a moment later and Barry looks up at Tommy with an intensity in his glare it makes Tommy physically step back from his uncle.

“Where you are planning to go, Wilson will only be a young teenager. You will not stop him by ending him, Tommy.” Barry’s voice raising.”You will not kill a defenseless kid before he has even done anything at all.” 

“But if I can stop him altogether, then this never happens!” Tommy says back, his voice cracking under his slight yell.

“No, no, no! We don't kill innocent people! He will only be a kid with a messed up daddy complex in that time, you do not get to kill him. Not even your father would do that in the time you are going to. Three years prior to where you want to go, maybe. But no, Tommy, no.”

“But…” Tommy was about to continue when all of a sudden her heard footsteps approaching. Those steps belonging to his other Uncle Roy, followed by that, not letting Tommy finish his sentence and Roy begins speaking.

“Kid is right. We have to stop this before it happens.” Roy says as he walks up the steps to the platform and stands next to Barry and Tommy.

Tommy gets a huge smug grin on his face. Just as he is about to say something though, Roy raises his hand to shut him up and Tommy clamps down his jaw, biting his tongue. 

“I am agreeing with Tommy’s idea, but not with the part about killing him.” He says very sternly. “At least not unless it came to that.” Roy shrugs and then straightens up to continue. “We are all better than that. Even back then, we were all better than that.” 

Tommy’s shoulders sag slightly, but he knows his uncles are right. They didn't kill, it wasn't a part of what they did.

“If you go, you will convince the team to help you, then they will find him and persuade him to be good. They will tell him the truth about who his father was and what he did because where you are going, those memories and emotions will be very fresh and very raw. Then they can tell him he is a better man than his father was and they can then teach him how to be better.” 

It was Barry’s turn to look smug as he looked at Tommy after listening to Roy's speech.

Tommy sighed in defeat, “Ok, that is what I’ll do. Or at least convince all the others to do. But if he is already bat-shit crazy, then I'm not hesitating to-”

“Let your father or Dig or myself handle it,” Roy said, sharply cutting off Tommy mid-sentence.  
Before Tommy could say another word the sound of the elevator doors opening catches all their attention. Followed by the pitter patter of tiny feet running around the platform and up the ramp. Rounding the circle she comes barreling in, crashing into Tommy’s legs with the fiercest high pitched giggle he knew.

All three men looked at the adorable 3-year-old with awe and adoration. She was now attached to Tommy’s legs and not letting go, still giggling.

“Up!” She exclaims as she looks up at Tommy with the biggest blue eyes and biggest grin, her long dark brown curls framing her face, giving her an even brighter aura.

“If you want up, you are going to have to let go first, Miss Elena,” Tommy says with a smile on his as he faces down the 3-year-old with a death grip on his legs.

She quickly releases his legs from her grip and stands back, looking up at him with her big eyes and her arms raised high. “Tom-tom, up!” She exclaimed again, her patience levels are definitely not very high. Something she most definitely inherited from her mother. 

Tommy leaned down and picked Elena up, hugging her tight and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Roy leaned over her and gave her a kiss on the back of her head too before looking at her and asking her a question.

“Ellie, how did you get here baby girl?” Roy asks in his softly curious tone, the tone he reserves specifically for Thea and their girls.

“Aunt City brought me, daddy!” She said with a wide smile.

Throwing questioning glances around at each other, knowing very well that Felicity, or ‘Aunt City’ as Ellie called her, was not in a position to actually drive with being wheelchair bound now.

“And how exactly did she bring you?” Tommy asked her.

“Uncle John, duh!” She lets out in her snippy tone, the one she undoubtedly inherited from her mother.

They all scoff out a laugh at her response.

Then, almost simultaneously, the words hit them like a brick to the stomach. Knowledge that now somewhere in the lair or the offices above them, Felicity and John are here. That thought sobers them quickly. They needed to tell them the plan.

Tommy thought this plan was a good idea, a great idea actually. But the thought of going to his mother and uncle and telling them this, it spread fear through his body like ice in his veins.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-Back in 2014- Felicities front porch doorstep-

Standing in silence just outside Felicity’s front door, both Oliver and Felicity were still in a stunned silence. After listening and taking in everything their new little future friend had dropped on them, they hadn’t known what to do. It had been quite a bit of silence since.

Tommy had told them what he knew, what Joe Wilson had done, or at least what Tommy could tell them, and a few more little bits of future life he had not meant to let slip. That had been it for the team, barely any one of them had spoken a word, just taking everything in and trying to process it. 

Diggle had been the only one willing to let himself break his silence to go home to Lyla. He had taken a deep breath, gave Tommy a hard-to-read expression, before asking the kid if he had anywhere to sleep. Dig and Oliver gave a silent exchange of question and answer before Dig offered for Tommy to stay in the foundry. There he would at least be safe and sheltered. Tommy accepted as everyone broke away, going to their respective homes. Except for Oliver and Felicity.

They had remained standing in the middle of the foundry in silence, staring at each other when the other wasn’t looking. Neither knowing what to say, to fully comprehend what Tommy had told them meant accepting things they weren’t sure they were ready to accept. 

After 15 minutes of them standing in the silence of the foundry, Oliver turned to her and held out his hand to her, and he offered to give her a ride home.

Now here they are, standing on Felicities front porch, still nothing but silence between them, but neither one able to leave the other until one of them spoke. But both still just staring blankly at the world around them, letting their thoughts run rampant.

Felicity had finally had it. She couldn't stand the silence anymore, Oliver staying quiet made her uneasy. She knew how he would get the longer he let his mind take over, he had quite the tendency to let himself take the blame for everything. 

Taking all of the night’s information, filing it away into a little box in her mind to look through tomorrow, she huffs out a deep breath. One that catches Oliver's attention as he looks up from the doormat on her porch and into her eyes.

“We have a lot to figure out.” She says, her tone even, slightly surprising herself with how in control she sounds.

He lets out a small breathy laugh, not one of humor but of exhaustion and shock.

“Yeah, we do…” he trails off, looking down again.

A moment goes by and he comes to his resolve, he looks up and meets her eyes again.

“And we will. We just need to,... take some time and let it all settle. Sleep on it and reconvene with everyone tomorrow with fresh minds.” He says, hoping to reassure her. “Hey,” he says to catch her full attention, reaching forward to her hand hanging loosely by her side and grasping it softly but firmly in his own, his other hand coming up to gently cup the side of her neck, “whatever we do, we do together, like always. We’re a team.” He intertwines their fingers and squeezes her hand, giving her his most genuine smile.

She took a shaky breath, a light sheen of tears coat her eyes but she doesn’t let any fall and she nods, a ghost of a smile on her lips. 

“Yes, we are.” Squeezing his hand tightly.

His chest tightens at the look of trust he sees in her eyes. In that moment, he knows that as long as they are together, they can get through anything.

“Get some sleep,” he says as he drops his hand from her neck to reach down to take the keys from her other hand, unlocks and opens her door for her. 

He leans forward and presses a light kiss to her forehead before taking a tentative step back. But just as he is about to release her hand from his hold and let her go inside, she tightens her grip and tugs him back to her. 

“Stay with me tonight?” Felicity asks him hopefully. But before she can let him answer, nerves flood her system at what her asking could have insinuated to him and she starts to ramble before she can even realize what she’s saying. “I mean, since your bed is otherwise occupied and I really don't like the idea of you sleeping on the cold concrete in the foundry, you are more than welcome to sleep with me. And by sleep with me, I mean you can spend the night in my apartment. It doesn't have to be with me, with me, in my bed. You can sleep on the couch if you prefer. Not that I would mind you sleeping with me. I don't mean that at all dirty, although I wouldn't mind that either but it wasn't what I was meaning for us to do right now. And oh my gosh Oliver why aren't you stopping me.” She lets out a groan as she lets her head fall forward and rest against his chest, her embarrassment evident by the blush covering her cheeks and spreading down her neck.

He lets out a laugh, a small but albeit real deep laugh, something that feels nice to do after the day they have had, ‘has it only been a day?’ he asks himself. He kisses the top of her head again where it rests on his chest, still a slight chuckle to his voice.

“Felicity,” he says to get her attention and she pulls back looking up into his beautiful blue eyes. He smiles softly at her, one of those, butterfly-inducing smiles as she more often calls them. 

“I’ll stay with you tonight. I’ll be more than happy to.” He tells her as he tightens his grip on their intertwined hands. 

She gives him her nervous smile and turns, stepping into her open doorway, gently pulling him inside with her as they enter her home and close the door behind them. Leaving all the big revelations the night has brought upon them, to wait until tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~I know I suck! I will let Tommy's story and revelations to the team be known in the next chapter. But for now, you get this.~


	5. Spill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy's side of why he is here and why he needs help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, my lovelies! I'm so sorry I have been MIA, I lost a lot of inspiration in writing when things in life started to hit the shit fan and you know how that goes. Here is my next chapter, I am planning on writing more ASAP.

The bright shine of the sun peeking in through the curtains is what brings him to consciousness.

Just as Oliver is waking up, a small smiles tugs at his lips as he is quick to remember he is in Felicity's bed. Not only is he in her bed, he is in her bed with her sprawled out, half on his chest. He moves his arm around her back and hugs her to him gently, not wanting to wake her. 

For the first 10 minutes after waking up, he recounts their arrival to her house; they may have only kissed last night and gone to sleep, but this is where he is happy to be, and if he is being honest with himself, he knows he hasn’t felt this contently happy in a long time. As he lays there, that is all he lets himself think about. Being with her at this moment, her quiet even breaths fanning out against his chest and her beautiful mass of tangled blonde waves covering his shoulder. 

The longer he lays there though, more of the events from the night before creep back into his mind, in true Oliver fashion. He allows the vague yet oddly deep words Tommy had spoken in the foundry to swim into his consciousness. The story Tommy told them of a very tortured man who let the lack of knowledge and the need for revenge consume him so much until he had torn the world Tommy lived in apart. A world that became nothing but a torn apart city, families destroyed- his included apparently- and an army set on destroying the Masks in Starling and anything that gets in their way. 

Oliver couldn’t stop thinking about it all and the more he thought about it the tenser he became. 

“Stop thinking so hard, you'll give yourself an aneurysm,” Felicity says from her place on his chest, she is unmoving but definitely awake now. 

He was so caught up in his own thoughts, he missed her breathing change to acknowledge her waking up from her deep slumber. 

He lets out a humorless chuckle, his hand roaming her back mindlessly as he lets a lazy smile spread on his face.

“Go back to sleep Felicity,” he says in his low grumbly voice, as he places a soft kiss on the top of her head. 

She nuzzles her cheek and nose against his chest, dropping a kiss on it as she snuggles closer to him and lets her mind drift back into her dream world. 

He takes a deep breath and tries to let all thought fade to the back of his mind and just enjoy his time in Felicity’s arms. He closes his eyes and breathes in the wonderful smell that is Felicity Smoak. He relaxes his body and wills himself to sleep, needing just a few more minutes alone in the small perfect world they have created there, in her bed, before the big bad world comes back to drag them back with it.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“No, don’t do it!” he yells as he reaches for her.

“Leave her alone!!!” he is now running and crying, trying to catch up with them.

“Please, no!” Sobs breakthrough his chest as he lets out a gut-wrenching scream.

Tommy flies up out his sleep screaming her name from the nightmare that had just been terrorizing his subconscious. 

He takes a few steadying breaths to calm himself down and wipes his hand across his face and that’s when he realizes he is not only drenched in sweat but he also has tears still streaming down his face. 

He scrubs it all away as best he can, hoping it will also scrub away all the torment his mind had just put him through. He takes a deep breath and that’s when he heard the footsteps. The back door to the foundry opening and slamming shut had been what jolted him out of his sleep and now he was no longer alone down here. 

He bows his head down letting it fall into his hands as he attempts to get ahold of himself before anyone has to see him in such disarray. He isn’t so lucky though, the next thing he knows, a disturbingly familiar scent invades all of his senses just as the bed lets out small creak and dips down slightly beside him. 

She reaches out and gently touches his shoulder, something he wasn’t expecting and it made him jolt back in surprise. He looks up at her so fast she almost pulls away. But it isn’t the movement that made her almost move, it’s the look of pure pain in his eyes. It is a look she has seen far too often in Oliver’s eyes and all she wants is to do her best and provide some support for their visitor from the future.

“I’m fine.” he says without her asking, “It was just a dream, nothing else. I’m fine.” 

He can’t stand being so close to her right now, so he shakes her hand off his shoulder and makes a quick move to get off the bed and put some distance between them.

“Ok, I’m sure you are,” she says like she has been through this before, which he knew she had. “But if you aren’t, that’s ok too. Talking about everything you told us last night and dredging up the past like that had to have caused some bad memories to fester. It’s understandable.” she stands from the bed and makes direct eye contact with him as she speaks, making sure he knows that she gets it. She walks over to her computers silently to let him have a few moments alone.

But just that comment from her alone brings him back to the night before when he broke it all down and told the team everything he could tell them about why he is here trying to fix things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
-2014- the night before, in the foundry-

Tommy stood there in the foundry, all eyes on him as he took a deep breath before telling them everything he could without giving too much away, including who he is. He looked at each face that was staring at him and just started speaking.

“Slade Wilson has a son, Joe. To break it down easily, he has some pretty horrible ideas of who his father was and what was done to him. He doesn't know the whole story or even close to the truth of it all and that is the beginning of what I know as the end of all things good in the world.” He took a deep breath and looked down, staring at his feet.

“Joe Wilson thinks he has been fed lies for his entire life, but it's not until he becomes an adult, one who has insane daddy issues, where the ASIS started to corrupt his mind. They came to him and told him that his father had been led astray from them and was being coerced by a high powered drug that made him go insane, i.e. the Mirakuru, somewhere along the line of this deceit, they drop your name,” looking up and nodding towards Oliver before continuing to speak, “Telling him of the horrible ways you tortured Slade and then killed him in before his time and taking him away from his family.”

Tommy looked around to a variety of faces, each with their own look of shock, sadness, and anger. 

Dig cleared throat before speaking, “That's not what happened though. Slade made it his life's mission to destroy Oliver and take away everything he loved. He tortured him, not the other way around.” 

Tommy nodded, “Yes, I know that. But, Joe didn’t. He was a lost child in an adults body who grew up wondering why his dad left him behind but constantly being told lies. Once he was old enough, the Australian Government came to make sure they didn't come off as the bad guys with the truth that they sent Slade and his partner to Lian Yu and then abandoned them. They wanted to get this kid on their side and they fed him the story that would give him the motivation to join them.” 

Dig nodded and crossed his arms at this information.

Tommy continued, “As Joes got older, he trained with ASIS for years, learning everything that they were willing to teach him and more. He worked his way through them, learning every side of the agency that he could. No one thought anything of his willingness to learn so much until it was too late. He used their technology and stole everything he needed before going on a killing spree and making sure he sent his message that he was out for blood.”

Felicity took in a shocked breath and closed her eyes, she may see blood in the field and know what people are capable of, but hearing this made her heart hurt for a child scorned.

Oliver stood stoic, his eyes focused on Tommy and his words as he processed it all. 

Just as Tommy was about to continue, Oliver stepped forward and spoke. “What happened next?”

Tommy made eye contact with Oliver and took a deep breath before looking at everyone again, looking at Felicity for a moment and then ending back on Oliver. “He went off the grid. No one could find him. ASIS rebuilt and had no idea where he could be, they notified ARGUS of this situation and they couldn’t locate him either. He just became a ghost. For years.” 

He took a deep breath and didn't speak for a moment. When he finally spoke he looked haunted. He was looking up now, but not directly at anyone.

“Until last year, my time last year, not your last year here last year, you know what I mean. About a year ago things started to change, little things at first. A note here and there that were untraceable, nothing too threatening, just little things like, ‘You could stop this’ and ‘I thought you were better than that’. Then a few minor interruptions, lights going out on missions, just enough to delay getting the bad guy that night, then the comms going down, just enough to be irritating to prolong a mission.” He stopped for a second and let out a shaky breath. He shook his head and finally made eye contact with Oliver again, regaining his focus.

“Then things got real and fast. The threats came in hard and cut deep. Word of destroying the legacy you had built, undermining all the good that had been done and turning it all to ruin. They got worse once the harm of the people around you came into play. He was no longer holding back. Small hidden bombs were going off in the glades, they brought the fear back to the people who lived there and with it, the trust was being erased in the work the team had done and things were going to hell faster than anyone could work to fix it. The entire city was burning, your team had rallied and come up with a plan to fix it and that's when he attacked the heart of it all. He has an army, they separated and took each person who means or meant anything to you and bombarded each safe haven. A lot of people were hurt, most more severely than I would like to say. It's getting worse day by day, minute by minute, and there is nothing we can do because he is 10 steps ahead in a game we don't even know we are playing, let alone know how to compete in.” 

He finished and his face was grim. There was a pain in his eyes and he clenched his fists at his sides; doing the best to not let his emotions get the best of him. 

“Who gets hurt?” Oliver asked, his voice low and even, though the veins on his forehead said he was less than fine after hearing this.

“I can't tell you that,” Tommy said with a regretful sigh. His eyes jumped to Felicity and he flinched slightly remembering her screams. 

No one else saw this except for Oliver and it was enough to stop him in his tracks and know he didn't want to know more, even though his every instinct was screaming at him to ask every question in the book.

“So who are you then?” Felicity finally spoke up.

The question took him by surprise, the hurt flashed across his face before he quickly recovered. Roy made an uncomfortable shift on his feet, seeing that hurt and knowing why it was there but not being able to do anything to help.

“I'm, a friend,” Tommy said reluctantly.

“Well, you're young, like younger than Thea, though you hold yourself very well for your age. Not the point. Do we know someone you are related to now or are we gonna know you soon?” Felicity couldn’t hold back her curiosity.

Tommy took a deep breath trying not to get annoyed that she wouldn't let it go, back in his time he knew he would have cracked by now, he could never lie to her, but here he had to. Even if he felt like it might kill him emotionally.

“I cant answer that! Any of it. Just take my word for it. I'm a friend, you know me and I know you. I just need your help to fix this now before it ruins everyone's lives!” Tommy said, frustrated.

Felicity looked at him closely and nodded, “Fine, but why you? Why did you come here? Why not someone else?”

Roy flinched at the question, knowing it was unfair. But in Felicity’s defense, she didn't know. She wasn't even accusing him of anything, she was just curious, but Roy knew this cut deep in Tommy even if he didn't show it. The only way he knew this was bothering him was from his small outburst in answering her question.

“Because my entire family is in shambles because of this, and that son of a bitch took my little sister from me! I will not let this keep happening.” He said exasperatedly.

That shut Felicity up and took her back. In fact, it took everyone by surprise. Everything he had said was horrible but taking this kids little sister just for the sake of proving whatever point he seemed to be trying to prove was just the final straw that made everyone quiet. 

No one made eye contact for a while, the foundry quiet, silence taking over. There was a dripping of water somewhere in the background that was sounding louder than ever.

After a while, Dig nodded, stepped forward and put his hand on Tommy's shoulder, and excused himself to go home to Lyla. Before he left, he asked Tommy if he has a place to sleep, Tommy said he was gonna figure something out. Dig and Oliver made eye contact and a silent nod confirmed for Dig. He told Tommy to stay at the foundry, where it was safe and secure for him and pointed to the cot and bathroom in the back. He left after that.

Laurel stood awkwardly before mumbling something about doing paperwork for the explosion tonight to make it an easy case to close and leaving herself.

Oliver and Felicity were still standing there silently. She eventually sat down and turned to her computer without saying a word, while Oliver stared at the floor like he was waiting for it to pounce.

Roy made his way to Tommy slowly, put his hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eyes and nodded. It wasn’t much but it meant so much to Tommy at this moment, it was the thing that kept him strong when he thought he might break. Roy then proceeded to make his way out of the foundry and on his way to his home.

Tommy looked at Oliver, who was looking at Felicity as she typed. A few moments later she finished what she was typing and turned around to look at Tommy. The silence was deafening but they were all trying to figure out what to say. 

Felicity eyed Tommy, more questions in her mind than answers but she was still too speechless by what he has said to speak. She looked up at Oliver and caught his eyes, he reached out to her. 

She took his hand in hers as he said, “Need a ride home?”

She nodded and stood with him. They both looked at Tommy who was awkwardly staring at them and he nodded and walked over to the cot as they made their way up the stairs and out to the Olivers car.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tommy shook off his thoughts, reached for his backpack and pulled out a clean shirt and quickly changed into it before making his way to the bathroom to freshen up.

When he came out and walked to the middle of the foundry where all the gear was, he noticed a few more faced had wandered in while he was in there.

He took a look around at Felicity, Oliver, Dig, and Roy took a deep breath and plastered a small smile on his face as he broke the silence.

“So, where do we start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is, Tommy told all. Well, as much as he could. Please let me know how you like it!

**Author's Note:**

> There is it! Chapter 1! Thank you for reading! I am going to be trying to update this at least once a week, hopefully Mondays but I can not say that for a fact right this moment. I am a few chapters ahead at the moment, so hopefully I continue to stay ahead and we keep this going! Please review and follow! I swear, reviews of all kinds feed my writers soul!


End file.
